Nothing beats a delicious rack of ribs smoked to perfection.
When you are getting ready to smoke a rack of ribs on your pellet grill, there are many decisions to make before you start the cook. What type of pellets to use, what temperature is best, and what rub to use? Another big question that is debated among pitmasters everywhere is whether to smoke the ribs bone side up or bone side down. As someone who has smoked thousands of racks of ribs, I can tell you the answer….it depends.
Unfortunately, there is not one best way to cook a perfect rack of ribs. It depends on the cooking style, recipe, and personal preference. If you have never smoked ribs on a pellet grill my recommendation to new pitmasters is to start with No Wrap Rib Recipe, which is the easiest and simplest way to smoke a perfect rack of ribs. After you build a little confidence and know what to look for you can try other recipes that may add different techniques like wrapping, flipping, and adding bbq sauce during the cook.
There are different schools of thought when it comes to smoking ribs bone up or bone down. Some argue that smoking the ribs bone side up allows for better smoke penetration and more even cooking, while others say that bone side down is the way to go.
In this article, I’ll explore the pros and cons of smoking ribs bone up or down, and provide some tips for getting the best results. I will show you how to position the ribs depending on the smoking method and give you some tips on how to make truly delicious smoked ribs!
Which Side is the Bone Side?
All ribs (pork and beef), have two sides: the bone side and the meat side. The bone side is the side of the rib that has the bone closest to the surface. You can clearly see the white rib bones because there is no meat on top of the bone. On the meat side, there is a thick layer of visible meat and fat.
On the bone side, you will see also see a thin layer of silvery membrane called silver skin. Before you apply your rub and smoke the ribs you should remove this membrane. Check out my article on How to Remove Memrane from Pork Ribs for step-by-step directions (it’s so easy!).
The Importance of Rib Placement
The way you place the ribs in the pellet grill is a crucial decision to achieving the best flavor and texture. There are many different ways to smoke your ribs, and each method may call for placing the rib’s bone up or down and adjusting the position during the cook. It’s important to know the pros and cons of smoking ribs bone up or bone down so that you can get the best results during your next cooks.
If you read through some of the most popular rib recipes like “3-2-1 Ribs”, “No Wrap Ribs”, or “2-2-1 Ribs” you will notice that each recipe differs in the rib placement. Smoking rib’s bone up or down will affect the amount of smoke, the way the ribs look, and the overall quality.
Bone Side Down
Smoking ribs bone side down allows for maximum smoke penetration resulting in a more flavorful and tender rib. Cooking ribs bone side down prevents the meat from burning and drying out.
Most barbecue enthusiasts like to start their ribs bone side down for a long period to ensure that the meaty side gets plenty of smoke and a nice bark forms.
Bone Side Up
Smoking ribs bone side up is usually only used when wrapping ribs in aluminum foil or butcher paper. Wrapping the ribs with some butter and barbecue sauce is a great way to impart extra flavor and keep your ribs moist.
It’s All About the Bark – Start your Ribs Bone Side Down
You should always start smoking ribs with the bone side down, and the meat side up!
The best part of a great rack of ribs is the flavor-packed bark that forms on the meat side of the ribs. Getting a perfect layer of bark is a sign of a great pitmaster, but it is not difficult. But it all starts with cooking ribs correctly from the very beginning.
I like my ribs to have a nice smoke ring, a firm bark, and a juicy tender center. I don’t like my ribs to fall off the bone, but prefer a “competition” bite where the rib meat bites cleanly off the bone. The first step to smoke ribs like this is placing the ribs on your pellet grill bone side down, with the meat side up.
The bark you are looking for is formed on the meat side of the rib, not the bone side. The bark-forming is a slow process as the proteins and fat in the ribs react with the heat and smoke over time. For a nice crisp bark that is full of flavor, you need to make sure there is plenty of airflow and low humidity to help the bark “set up”.
If you smoke your ribs with the bone side up, and meat side down, this reaction will be slowed. As the ribs cook, all the fat and juices from the meat will drip down and accumulate on the meat side which prevents a firm bark from forming.
Do You Place the Bone Side Up or Down When Wrapping Ribs?
A great way to help seal in moisture and extra flavor, when you are smoking a rack of pork ribs, is to wrap them. You can use aluminum foil or peach butcher paper to do this. Check out my article How To Wrap Ribs for a step-by-step tutorial on wrapping ribs.
If you choose to wrap ribs, you should place the ribs bone side up for the remainder of the cook. Typically when wrapping ribs in foil or butcher paper you can add some butter, apple cider, or barbecue sauce to the wrap before sealing the ribs up. This liquid braises the ribs and keeps the meat moist through the remainder of the cook. Keeping the bone side up ensure that the meaty side remains down in the heat and in the braising liquid.
Does This Apply To All Types of Ribs?
It depends. All pork ribs, like baby back ribs, spare ribs, and St. Louis Ribs are very similar. I typically smoke them in the same way, bone side down for the first half of the cook, wrap them, then finish them with the bone side up.
When smoking beef ribs I like to cook them bone side down for the entire cook. I really don’t like my beef ribs wrapped in foil as I feel it can give the ribs a pot roast-like texture since it keeps all the steam inside the foil. Sometimes I will wrap beef ribs in butcher paper for the last hour depending on the flavor profile and recipe I am using.
Do You Flip the Ribs While Smoking Ribs?
Most barbecue enthusiasts love opening the lid to their pellet grill and adjusting or flipping the meat during a cook. But when you are smoking pork ribs there is no need to constantly open the lid and flip the meat. At most, you will need to flip the ribs one time if you decide to finish the rack wrapped in foil, but that’s it. Don’t play with your ribs! Let the pellet grill do all the work, patience here is key!
As hard as it may be try not to open the lid to your pellet grill to check on your spare ribs or baby back ribs….don’t do it. Every time you open the lid you lose heat and smoke. The more consistent the temperature and smoke the better the quality of your finished ribs.
Slicing Ribs – Bone Side Up or Down?
After you have finished smoking your ribs to perfection on your pellet grill you must slice them before serving. Just like smoking ribs, there are many ways to slice a rib rack.
To me, it’s always been easier to slice the rib bone side up with a razor-sharp knife. The type of knife really doesn’t matter but I typically use a 10″ chef knife or a larger boning knife. The most important thing is to use a large enough knife that is sharp and you cut each rib with one fluid steady cutting motion.
You can also slice the rib bone side down. If you are a real stickler for a neat presentation then this may be your preferred method, as you will get the cleanest slice and the sauce will remain intact and perfect. However, it is much more difficult to slice directly through the meat without hitting the bone. It takes a bit of practice and learning how to judge where the bones are.
You can also stand the rack up on its side but this is my least favorite way to slice ribs and I do not recommend it. It takes a lot of skill to achieve nice consistent slices. It’s also very hard to gauge where the bone is.
Wrapping It Up
Bone side up and bone side down is a debate that will continue forever. If you are cooking ribs for the first time I would recommend cooking them bone side down for the whole cook to keep things simple. As you become more confident with your pellet grill and how ribs cook you should experiment with wrapping them and smoking then bone side up and bone side down.
The placement of the ribs on your pellet grill depends entirely on your personal preference. If you like dry rub then bone side up for the entire cook will be your go-to method. But if you prefer a traditional St. Louis rib loaded with sauce you will want to place the ribs bone side up when you are wrapping and saucing them.
Now that you know the reasons why different recipes between smoking ribs bone side up and bone side down you have one more piece of information to help you impress your family and friends with a perfectly smoked rack of ribs!